One of the hardest parts about deciding whether to come back to South Dakota for a few weeks before my big move or not was work. I had an opportunity to work summer school at my previous job, and moving home for this time period meant giving up that extra pay. However, once my surgery was scheduled and I realized I wouldn’t be able to work that position over the summer anyway, coming home just made sense.

I do still receive some pay from the school because my salary was split to last part of the summer, but it is not much. And I still go crazy when I don’t have a job or feel like I am not using my time wisely.

Hence, here is the statement I never thought I would use: I am a sales representative.

When considering positions I could work short-term, not any made sense. No one would hire me and pay me for only three weeks. But one silly man did, and that man is my dad.

At first I offered to make some calls to try to get him accounts and help him out a little bit. He gladly accepted and offered to pay me some commission if I got any sales. My first day of training was only an hour and a half, and I had even contemplated taking back my word. Calling people to ask them about plastic raw materials was the last thing I ever imagined myself doing. Not to mention, polypropylene, polyethylene, polystyrene, and all of the other materials all went above my head. What were these weird words, and what if someone asked me something and I didn’t know how to respond? My background is in Psychology, not Plastic!

Despite my initial fears, I did increase my hours from one and a half to five or six hours a day, and I am slowly gaining a love for this part-time, flexible, solely commission job. I have called over 130 people, left over 70 voicemails, have had some slip-ups, and have also engaged in some positive conversations and gotten close to a few sales. I even now know what (HMW)HDPE stands for…High Molecular Weight High-Density Polyethylene. Pretty cool, right?

My brother still comes home from coaching each day and asks how much money I’ve made. I still respond with, “Zero dollars today!” Despite this, there is a certain part of the job that I really do love. I can do as well as I want. Yes, there is some “luck in the game” with getting good accounts and finding people who are responsive and interested in buying or purchasing the materials, but it is so much more than that.

The more calls I make, the more chances I have. The more I research the business, the more knowledgeable I will be. This position gives me the chance to push myself out of my comfort zone and into a realm of potential.

With the dreams added in, I can say I have “breathed, slept, and eaten” plastic sales this last week. 


I can honestly say that I have had dreams each night this week reciting my voicemail message. I can also say I have gotten way too excited when my phone rings or dings with the hopes of getting a call or email back from one of the companies I reached out to. The best part about this week on the job has been getting to do something new, something I never thought I would do.

I am a people-person, when in person. I don’t typically (or ever) call strangers on the phone to chat. I never thought I would be in the sales industry. But I am. And to my surprise, it is getting fun and even a little addicting.

Sales may not be the thing for you, and I don’t plan on it being my life-long career either, but do go out of your comfort zone and try something new, something you never thought you would enjoy. You just may surprise yourself, and when you do, smile with appreciation.

We will never know what we like and don’t like until we dive right in and try it out.

Happy Monday! Be bold today.